3 Milwaukee groups win national grants for anti-crime efforts

Riverworks Development worked to close tavern after fatal shooting

The efforts of Darryl Johnson, executive director of Riverworks Center, and other neighbors to shut down a troublesome neighborhood tavern resulted in a national grant to the center this week. Credit: Ashley Luthern

Two years ago, Darryl Johnson was sound asleep in his home in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood.

Gunfire woke him.

It wasn't the first time bullets were fired near his home, but this time seemed different.

"It sounded like it was right there in the house," he said.

Johnson and his wife ran out of their bedroom to check on their 2-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter, who were still sleeping. He went upstairs to the finished attic and looked out the window, seeing officers' flashlights shining on his house.

Johnson headed downstairs, stepped outside and saw police and paramedics trying to revive a man who had been shot.

The man died on the sidewalk in front of Johnson's house, one of 92 homicide victims in the city that year. As Johnson examined the exterior walls of his home, he saw bullet holes.

"One was almost two feet away from my kids' bedroom window," he said. "It was just very devastating to have to go through that."

The efforts Johnson and his neighbors undertook in the aftermath of that shooting have resulted in a $15,000 grant that was awarded Thursday to Riverworks Development Corp., a nonprofit neighborhood improvement group that Johnson leads. It is among three city organizations receiving the national grants this year.

When Johnson saw the wounded man that night, he had a strong hunch about where the man had come from: a nearby tavern. Club 2-C, at N. 2nd St. and W. Keefe Ave., was known for causing problems in the neighborhood, from crowded streets to fights and gunfire. Johnson later learned from police that his suspicion was correct.

As a longtime resident and executive director of the neighborhood group, Johnson took action. He and fellow residents banded together with help from other organizations, including the Milwaukee branch of the nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corp., which focuses on housing and economic development in neighborhoods.

They hired a private investigator to record what happened around the club, testified before the Common Council, and worked with Milwaukee police and the Community Prosecution Unit to document activity that stemmed from the tavern.

Their actions led to the owner giving up his tavern license in December. When someone else tried to open a tavern in the same location this year, residents rallied and stopped the proposal.

The MetLife Foundation and LISC have given Community-Police Partnership Awards since 2002 to initiatives that produce tangible results. This year, more than 560 police departments and community organizations nationwide applied for the 11 awards.

Milwaukee is the first city to have three honorees in a single year.

"These are opportunities to highlight work that's really making a difference and to share that there are things that agencies and neighbors can do to make a change, and that law enforcement can be an important partner," said Dawn Hutchison-Weiss, spokeswoman for LISC Milwaukee.

After Club 2-C closed, there was a dramatic drop in the level of violent crime in the immediate area, said John Connelly, LISC public safety coordinator.

"I think we can legitimately tie it to shutting down the tavern," he said.

The tavern was only one of many projects for Riverworks. The agency has a full slate of upcoming tasks, from collaborating with a church on a new community center to continuing its revitalization plan for the Keefe Ave. commercial corridor.

"If you look at Harambee, it's close to downtown, at the backdoor of the North Shore, and it's a very affordable place and the housing stock is good," Johnson said. "But we need to deal with some of those underlying issues when it comes to safety and education and having an environment where young people can use their talents in a very positive way."